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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24914404">Ghost in a Flower</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthoneymint/pseuds/burnthoneymint'>burnthoneymint</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Spirit AU, one piece of summer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:16:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,013</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24914404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthoneymint/pseuds/burnthoneymint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji is a lonely river spirit of the Kohaku river (yes from spirited away. Sue me.) on the night of a meteor shower your paths crosses with each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Vinsmoke Sanji/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ghost in a Flower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello there! This is my addition to the One Piece of Summer event! If you want to participate you can check @doctorgerth ‘s blog for more info!(tumblr) I’m actually not sure if this fic is summer-y enough but I really enjoyed writing it! The prompts I used for this piece was Meteor shower and Sunset. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It all started on the day of a meteor shower. </p><p>The summer breeze blew at your skirt as you gazed upon the dark sky. You were wandering alone and looking for a nice, quiet spot. Especially a spot far away from teenagers sucking each others faces. </p><p>You continued to walk further away from the gathering, your surroundings getting darker by the second, you noticed that you were completely and utterly lost. You sighed. Of course you were lost. Squinting, you scanned the area. There were many bushy trees and daffodils. At the end of everything, you saw one area that was clear of trees and seemed like a good spot to sit and watch the meteor shower. You weren’t going to miss it just because you were lost. </p><p>That’s when you met him. </p><p>His porcelain skin was shimmering under the starlight. He laid down amidst the daffodils with both arms tucked his head. His blond hair was like gold pouring to the ground. A thin, blue kiseru was placed between his pink lips, he blew out a puff of smoke. His eyes were closed, his long blond lashes kissing his cheeks. </p><p>“How long are you going to stare madam?” </p><p>Entranced by his beauty you took a step closer. You noticed that he was wearing a light blue button up shirt and black trousers. The first three buttons of his shirt were left open, exposing more of his snow white skin. Your mouth went dry as you stood just an inch away from him. Finally the man slowly opened his eyes and stared back at you with two dark blue orbs. </p><p>You raised an eyebrow. </p><p>“Your eyebrow is curly?”</p><p>The question was more directed to you then to him. A soft smile spread across his face as he blew out another puff of smoke. You noticed that it smelled of vanilla. Before you can examine him further, the man lunged at you and took a hold of your wrist. He pulled you on his lap and panic bubbled up inside of you.</p><p>“Stranger danger! STRANGER DANGER!” </p><p>You felt the man tense under you as he let go of your wrist. Quickly your crawled away from him and with your chest bobbing up and down, you stared at him with fear. The man grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. </p><p>“Sorry,” he took in a puff of smoke. “It’s just that I haven’t been near a human for so long.” </p><p>Your breathing returned to normal as silence, accompanied by the occasional chirping of crickets, filled the atmosphere. You should be running away but you didn’t. The tone in his voice prevented you from leaving him. It was a tone you’ve heard in your own voice many many times. </p><p>Sadness. </p><p>Pulling your knees towards your chest, you decided to stay with him. Learn more about him. </p><p>
  <em>Wait… </em>
</p><p>“What do you mean you haven’t been near a human for so long?” you asked, tilting your neck to the side. “Are you… not human?”</p><p>“I am a river spirit.” he replied, propping himself on his elbow. “I’m surprised anyone came here. If you went any further other spirits might have gobbled you up.” </p><p>You eyes going wide, you let out a soft whine. He chuckled at your fear and waved his hand, trying to dismiss what he had just said. </p><p>“Don’t worry, they won’t come near you...now.” as if what he said was completely normal, he gave you a kind smile. “How rude of me, I didn’t introduce myself my name is Sanji. I occupy the Kohaku river.” </p><p>“My name is y/n.” you replied promptly. “Also, just for the record, I know you’re lying. There’s no way you’re a spirit.”</p><p>“Is that so,” Sanji hummed. “How do you explain this then?”</p><p>With a flick of a finger millions of water bubbled appeared before your eyes. They floated as the breeze moved them along. One bubble kissed your nose and popped, the droplets landed on your face. </p><p>With parted lips, you stood up, never tearing your gaze off of the blond. He seemed pleased with himself as gazed at you. His blue orbs observing your every reaction. With a sly smirk, he lifted himself up from the ground and walked towards you. </p><p>Your breath hitched as he stood an inch away from you, his vanilla scented breath ghosting over your face, he gently placed a hand on your flushed cheek. His thumb slowly caressed your soft skin. You didn’t know what to say or what to do. The only thing you felt was that you were exactly where you had to be at the moment. Meeting him, here, was destiny. You paths were intertwined and from now on neither of you could live a life without one another. </p><p>“You’re here to watch the meteor shower aren’t you?” he whispered, softly. “Let’s watch it together.” </p><p>And that was you first memory of the lonely river spirit.                         </p>
<hr/><p>Days passed and you found yourself visiting Sanji nearly everyday. He would always greet you with a wide grin. Your heart would skip a beat whenever you saw him smile. For the first time in your life you felt loved. Sanji was the only thing in your life that felt worth while. You would see him in the depths of the forest, the same forest that Sanji scared you into believing spirits would gobble you up. Most of the other spirits were quite nice actually. </p><p>The only issue was that you had to leave before sunset.</p><p>If you stayed even a minute longer you could never return to the human world. When Sanji told you this the first time, you felt that he thought you would leave him and never returned. He had spoken of the rule like it was something to be afraid of. But as long as you were with him you were happy.</p><p>The most surprising fact about the spirit was that he absolutely loved to cook. Often the two of you would go on picnics and he would feed you the countless desserts that he made. They would melt in your mouth and most of them made you shamelessly moan. </p><p>Everything was amazing. The two of you could talk for hours and the both of you had suffered from loneliness. You never thought that anyone would be able to understand your feelings. Your hardships. And in a way you were right, no human was able to understand you. </p><p>Each day leaving before sunset became harder. The days gradually became shorter as it signalled summer ending. It broke your heart. You were tired of returning to an empty home and an empty life. You could never imagine a life without him. </p><p>That is until one day you couldn’t find him. </p><p>You looked everywhere for him only to finally find him standing at the edge of a river. With a sigh of relief, you quickly made his way towards him. Your eyes scanned the atmosphere only to see that the river was polluted. Loads of plastic bottles and thrash was floating down stream. The your eyes shifted to Sanji. His usually pale skin was covered in dark, purplish marks and blisters. He looked utterly defeated. That’s when you realized what river this was.  The Kohaku river. </p><p>
  <em>His river. </em>
</p><p>“What happened to you?” you asked, panic bubbling up inside of you. </p><p>Sanji slowly turned towards you. It seemed that he had just noticed your presence which was worrying because he would usually be aware of even a butterfly landing on a flower. There were dark bags under his eyes and seemed like he could collapse at any second. </p><p>“Ah, hello love.” a somber smile formed on his pale lips. “It seems like today might be out last day.”</p><p>Your stomach clenched and you could hear your heart pounding in your ears. </p><p>“What do you mean by that?” you asked you voice sounded as it belonged to a stranger. </p><p>Sanji sighed and looked back at the river. </p><p>“My well being is directly linked to the river. Humans,” he clenched his teeth. “They polluted it so much that I can’t purify it anymore.” </p><p>A knot formed in your throat. Tears threatening to fall, your eyes shift between the river and Sanji. You bit your bottom lip as you let out a sniffle. With a shocked expression Sanji gaze landed back on you. His eyes skimmed your features before extending his arm and pulling you into a tight embrace. </p><p>“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “The time I got to spend with you made my unbearable life worth living.”</p><p>Your face buried in his chest, tears stung the corner of your eyes. At the same time your mind was racing, because you didn’t want to lose him. You couldn’t. Not after everything you’ve been through. </p><p>With a sudden realization, you tore your face away from his chest and looked up to him. Much to your surprise he was already staring at you. </p><p>“What if,” you began, uncertainty embedded in your voice. “We clean the river?”</p><p>“Usually that would work, but I don’t have enough strength to-” </p><p>“I’ll do it!” you exclaimed. “If it can work. I’ll do it.”</p><p>An expression of shock ghosted over his face before giving you a tired smile. He closed his eyes and placed his lips on your forehead. He gave it a soft peck before speaking. </p><p>“Promise me you’ll return until sunset.” his cold lips moved against your burning skin. “I’ll lose consciousness soon.” </p><p>Before you can say anything, Sanji’s head fell on to your shoulders and you barely were able to hold him up before he hit the ground. Careful not to drop him, you gently laid him on the grass. The summer wind ruffled your hair as you stared at the lake with determination. </p><p>There was no way you were going to let it end like this. </p>
<hr/><p>You kneeled next to Sanji with the last thrashbag in your hand. You were sweaty, wet and honestly your muscles ached. But you were pleased with the results. You glanced at the river. You’ve managed to collect every plastic bottle and thrash that was swimming in it. Now the river was sparkling with the faint light of the sun. </p><p>But the fact that Sanji was still unconscious worried you. All the bruises and blisters had cleared up from his skin. The bags under his eyes were gone.  He seemed more sound asleep then unconscious. Your heart tightened. What if he didn’t wake up? What would you do then? </p><p>The warmth of the sun kissed your skin, alarming you the concept of time. The area you were in was bathed in orange sunlight. You knew what that meant. You needed to leave. </p><p>You took in a sharp breath and took a hold of Sanji’s hand, lifting it up to your lips, you gave the lifeless limb a kiss. A smile tugged at your lips. </p><p>“Don’t worry I’m not going to leave you.” </p><p>Sanji doesn’t wake up until your surrounding are completely engulfed in darkness. The only light source being the stars above. You felt Sanji’s thumb stroking your hand as he woke up. A wide grin spread across your face when you heard him cough. He propped himself on his elbows.</p><p>“I thought you promised me you would leave before sunset.” </p><p>Giggling, you threw yourself on him and wrapped your arms around his neck. His hand came around your waist as you smooshed your cheeks together. </p><p>“Technically,” you said, you voice low. “I never promised.”</p><p>Sanji chuckled as he brushed his face against your hair. You pulled back in and placed your hands on his cheeks. He seemed healthier than ever. </p><p>“I guess now you’re stuck with me.” you said with a playful smirk. </p><p>“Then I guess my luck has finally turned.”</p><p>He leaned in and gave you a soft kiss. You practically melted when you felt his warm lips against yours. Feeling overwhelmed, your eyes teared up and he placed two additional kisses on your eyelids. </p><p>“Thank you.” he whispered. “Thank you for being in my life, y/n.” </p>
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